Predicting Performance Issues
Fit / Gap Prediction
Potential Strategies
A Drive
High A PRO, Low A Employee
 Team with High A Supervisor for important
decisions.
 Give specific guidelines for decision-making if
possible
 Team with High A Supervisor when delivering
bad news
 Frame conflict or criticism as being in the
interest of the team harmony in solving
 Supervisor support of authority to reinforce
confidence
 Regular reassurance and praise of handling
issues and demonstrating leadership
1. May have trouble making independent
decisions
2. May have difficulty delivering criticism or
handling conflict
3. May have difficulty with someone
challenging their authority
Low A PRO, High A Employee
1. May have difficulty not being in charge of a
team or project or scope of role
2. May not be able to support a majority
decision if they don’t agree
3. May not be ‘diplomatic’ in dealing with
emotions or conflicts on a team
4. May go in a direction outside the scope of
duties
 Give them a small project that they can be in
charge of from beginning to end
 If role is part of a career path, set
expectations for movement to more
independent role
 Set expectation that being a ‘good team
player’ is required for advancement
 Provide training in conflict management
 Have them practice asking ‘how will this
affect people, person A if this happens?’
 Make sure scope of duties is clearly
documented
 Assign consequences to stepping out of
scope of role and enforce them if this
interferes with someone else’s job
~1~
Predicting Performance Issues
Fit / Gap Prediction
Potential Strategies
B Drive
High B PRO, Low B Employee
1. May not communicate to others as needed
2. May be uncomfortable persuading others
about an idea
3. May not consider impact on people when
working on a problem or task
4. May not be comfortable networking or
meeting new people
 If a supervisor, have employee walk around
at least once per day to each of their
employees
 If they have an office, keep door open
 If in sales, schedule regular networking
events
 Set up scope of authority to require input
from others on decisions and ideas
 Create a tool or checklist that includes
people issues for any problem or task
processing
 Team up with High B for networking events
 Give training to feel more comfortable in
unfamiliar social situations
Low B PRO, High B Employee
1. May be ‘chatty’ and tend to distract other
people doing their work
2. May have difficulty working through a
problem independently (without feedback)
3. May have difficulty focusing on technical
aspects of the role
4. May find it difficult to be ‘firm’ with others
they supervise or interact with
 Set boundaries around time for socializing
 Create environment where socializing can
take place away from work
 If remote, create ways of connecting with
others to discuss ideas
 Create regular forum to review problems and
issues (even after the fact)
 Determine if there is a better time of day for
technical work
 Team up with technical person to provide
focus
 Team up with lower B supervisor or peer to
reinforce firm delivery
 Practice firm delivery – reinforce that it
promotes respect
~2~
Predicting Performance Issues
Fit / Gap Prediction
Potential Strategies
C Drive
Low C PRO, High C Employee
 Try to limit the number of things to get done
at any one time – assign tasks in small,
digestible batches
 Schedule regular times to meet or talk even
if daily. Put structure into day as much as
possible
 Give as much notice of change in tasks or
priorities as possible, try to distribute last
minute tasks to others if possible
1. May have difficulty getting things done
quickly or on schedule
2. May get flustered or anxious with
interruptions
3. May lose productivity if given too many
tasks or changes in priority of tasks
High C PRO, Low C Employee
1. May get bored with repetitive tasks
2. May get inpatient waiting for other people
to perform tasks
3. May not follow orderly processes to
complete tasks
 Try to offer occasional variety by assigning
small projects or other tasks when possible
 Suggest using waiting times as opportunities
to do other projects or checking own work
 Provide a checklist in order of priority and
process steps to reinforce the importance of
order
D Drive
High D PRO, Low D Employee
1. May not follow rules or procedures carefully  Team up with a High D team member to do
‘detail check’ to ensure compliance or
completeness
2. May get 80% done and get bored without
 Set rewards for 100% completion to
completing task or project
encourage work until the end
 Provide fairly close follow up to make sure
things get completed
3. May make ‘rash’ decisions without
 Ask to see analysis before accepting
considering important information
decisions
 Pair up with complementary team members
to make sure different viewpoints are
considered in decision making
4. May cut corners to get something done –
 Close follow up
risk to quality
 Performance goals and rewards tied to
quality not just schedule and budget
~3~
Predicting Performance Issues
Low D PRO, High D Employee
1. May be slow to make decisions
2. May have difficulty finding a solution in the
absence of clear direction
3. May have difficulty working in an
unstructured environment where goals and
rules are not clear or are abstract
 Set firm deadlines for decisions – make
timeline more important than analysis
 Create a team with at least one Low D peer
to push for quicker decisions
 If in area of technical expertise, suggest using
past experience as basis for solution
 Team with person more comfortable with
risk taking, creative problem solving
 Be as clear as possible regarding goals,
expectations and standards
 Provide training whether formal or informal
to increase confidence in navigating the
environment
~4~